by our College Data Analytics TeamAre students coming back to HCCC after their first year? Are HCCC students graduating in a timely manner? What happens to the students who don't graduate? Get all your questions answered here.
Freshmen retention rate refers to the percentage of first-time / full-time students who return for their second year.
With 57% students making it past their freshmen year, HCCC has freshmen retention rates similar to the national average.
Nationwide, the average first to second year retention rate is 70.57%.
When looking at just colleges and universities in New Jersey, the average is 74.83%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| HCCC | 57% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| New Jersey | 74.83% |
There were approximately 776 students in the class of 2015. How many of them actually completed their degree in a timely fashion?
Four years after beginning their degree, 13% of those students had graduated. By 2017, six years after starting their degree, 17% of the students had graduated and after eight years 18% of this class completed their degree.
Any student who completes their bachelor's degree within six years is considered to have graduated on time, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. This makes the offical HCCC graduation rate 17%.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 589 | 13% |
| Six Years | 776 | 17% |
| Eight Years | 76 | 1% |
| Did Not Complete | 3,772 | 82% |
Approximately 3772 students or 82% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 3772 students who did not complete their degree?
0 are still enrolled.
1123 transferred to another institution.
HCCC lost contact with the remaining 2587 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.0% |
| Transferred | 1123 | 29.8% |
| Dropped Out | 2,587 | 68.6% |
Some schools have mainly first-time, full-time students, while others cater to part-time students, transfer students, or adult learners. For a variety of reasons first-time, full-time students under the age of 25 are usually more likely to graduate in four years.
Traditional Students:
First-time, full-time students under the age of 25.
Non-Traditional Students:
Any student that is not first-time, full-time, and under the age of 25.
The majority of students at HCCC are considered 'traditional students' who are first-time attending full-time.
Comparing the graduation rates of specific cohorts shown below will be more revealing than the overall statistics shared above.
First-time / full-time students at Hudson County Community College represent 70% of the students in the class of 2015, and 71.01% of HCCC bachelor's degree graduations.
With a four-year graduation rate of 13%, first-time students in the HCCC class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were less likely than average to graduate on time.
After six years, the HCCC graduation rate was 17%, and by the eight year mark, 19% of the cohort had completed their degree.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for first-time undergraduates attending classes full-time is 37.92% after four years, 46.43% after six years, and 47.82% after eight years.
| First-Time / Full-Time Completions | HCCC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 13% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 17% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 19% | 47.82% |
2628 first-time / full-time students or 81% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
710 transferred to another institution.
HCCC lost contact with the remaining 1876 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Full-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 710 | 27.02% |
| Dropped Out | 1,876 | 71.39% |
First-time / part-time students at Hudson County Community College represent 15.95% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six-year graduation rate of 8%, first-time, part-time students in the HCCC class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were less likely than average to graduate on time.
After eight years, the graduation rate was 9%.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for first-time undergraduates attending classes part-time is: 14.37% after four years, 21.59% after six years, 23.72% after eight years.
| First-Time / Part-Time Completions | HCCC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 5% | 14.37% |
| Six Years | 8% | 21.59% |
| Eight Years | 9% | 23.72% |
670 first-time / part-time students or 91% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
16 are still enrolled.
181 transferred to another institution.
HCCC lost contact with the remaining 473 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 16 | 2.39% |
| Transferred | 181 | 27.01% |
| Dropped Out | 473 | 70.60% |
411 HCCC students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 8.88% of the students in the class of 2015.
Non first-time students could include transfer students or adults who have returned to school after an absense.
With a six year graduation rate of 26%, returning students in the class of 2015 and attended classes full-time had a graduation rate lower than the national average for students in this category.
After eight years, the graduation rate was 29%.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for non first-time undergraduates attending classes full-time is: 49.57% after four years, 53.83% after six years, and 55.07% after eight years.
| Returning / Full-Time Completions | HCCC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 26% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 29% | 55.07% |
293 non first-time / part-time students or 71% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
3 are still enrolled.
139 transferred to another institution.
HCCC lost contact with the remaining 151 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 3 | 1.02% |
| Transferred | 139 | 47.44% |
| Dropped Out | 151 | 51.54% |
245 HCCC students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 5.30% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six year graduation rate of 24%, returning students in the class of 2015 and attended classes full-time had a graduation rate lower than the national average.
After eight years, the graduation rate was 26%.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for non first-time undergraduates attending classes part-time is: 36.03% after six years, 36.03% after eight years.
| Returning / Part-Time Completions | HCCC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 30.46% |
| Six Years | 24% | 36.03% |
| Eight Years | 26% | 37.80% |
181 non first-time / part-time students or 74% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
1 are still enrolled.
93 transferred to another institution.
HCCC lost contact with the remaining 87 who we assumed dropped out.
| Returning / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 1 | 0.55% |
| Transferred | 93 | 51.38% |
| Dropped Out | 87 | 48.07% |
